The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1887-01-06
A MODERN UTOPIA.
A LAND ALMOST AS ENCHANTING
AS A DREAM OF PARADISE.


Living in such scenes of enchantment, these
people are as light Of heart and sunny in dis
position as children, and so polite and pleas
ure loving as TO excite the admiration of even
their French and Italian visitors There is
no dwelling so humble but it has spot for
trees and flowers. The rich have gardens in
which are faithful reproductions in miniature
of their varied landscapes, hidden in trees and
Towering shrubbery. Every farmers plot
of land is beautiful and adorned The gold
of the ripened rice and wheat is contrasted
against background of green foliage What
ever name may be given to the religion of
that people, and whatever creeds and doc
trines may have been engrafted upon their
beliefs, the main feature of their worship is
an intense love, amounting almost to an ado
ration, OF nature. This appears in their
whole life They have built their temples on
the sides of the great mountains, embowered
them in overhanging groves, and surrounded
them with everything of Towering shrub
The sites of these command beautiful views
of the surrounding country, and usually are
near fountains and waterfalls. The village
shriDes are located in the most charming spot
of the neighborhood, and no labor is spared
to adorn and beautify them. The highways
are bordered by rows of trees planted CEN
turtles ago, whose branches form an evergreen
arch over the head of the traveller. The road
TO Nikko, where the temples and tombs of the
tycoons are situated, has grand avenue of
giant frs For sixty miles one may ride in
the shade of these wide branching trees
From Yokohama south of Kioto, the old Cap
ital 400 miles, the road is one continuously
shaded avenue, winding along the ocean
shore, around narrow bays and inlets and
over high hills and mountain sides.
NO LACK OF HOLIDAYS.
Unlike their neighbors, the Chinese, the
japanese take time from their toll to enjoy
al this. Their government may have been
despoJic aud arbitrary, but it never over
worked its labOring population. 1t gave
them more holidays than any people under
the sun ever enjoyed. They had what was
known as the "Ichi-roku" days-that is, all
the days in the lunar months that were desig-
mated by one or six Thus the 1st 9th, 1fth
10Th, 21st and Goth days of each month were
legal holidays. In addition to these the
birthdays of the ruling emperor and empress,
and also of several of the greatest of their
predecessors of the ruling dynasty, which
reaches back through 1900 years, arc holt
days Every village has holidays in honor
OF its patron saint and the saints of the
famous temples and shE-nes have festal days.
On all of these the people, in their holiday
dresses, gather at the temples and shrines for
thanksgiving and to admire the beauties of
earth and sky. Pilgrimages are a marked
feature of the japanese life, but they are not
characterized by the austerity of the Chris
tan and Mohammedan world. No school
children, liberated from long study, could be
happier and gayer than these people as they
go along the shaded highways. Whole neigh
borhoods turn out their population, leaving
only enough people at home to care for the
households, and go sometimes hundreds of
miles on what may appropriately be called
these religious picnics. They walk along the
shaded avenues, talking, laughing and sing
ing. They rest when weary from walking i'll
the shade of the great trees by some clear
stream or some bubbling spring. All these
great highways are lined with tea booths,
where tea, rice, eggs or cakes can be had for
an incomparably low price.
In the villages, which are almost continu-
Gus along these roads, there are numerous
hotels where these pleasure seeking pilgrims
get their dusty feet bathed on arrival, bath
before retiring, two meals and a bed for ten
or fifteen cents for each person Forty miles
east from YeddO are the temples of Martha,
situated in a picturesque spur of the great
central mountain range. The road leading
there is one long avenue of trees planted 800
years ago It runs through green fertile
fields with the Bay of Yeddo, dotted with
countless white sails on the one hand, and the
great mountains on the other. During half
the year this broad road is lined with parties
of pilgrims their way to or from these
temples Every mile or two has its village
of hotels for the entertainment of these
people. Some of these caravanSaries accomO-
date 600 guests. The number of people visit
ing these shrines annually viii reach more
than 100000 In the spring, when the rice
has been planted the national rice festival
takes place This festival continues for six
days. The people go out into the fields, into
the valleys, or on to the terraced hill and
mountain sides to the shrines Of the patron
saint of agriculture, and there give thanks
for the sun and rain that have given such
promise of an abundant harvest. At night
every town is brilliantly lighted, and rejoic-
ing with music and dancing is heard till long
into the night.
FLOWER FESTIVALS.
The spring and summer bring the flower
festivals, when city and village streets for
miles are filled with the most beautiful floral
exhibitions and crowds of admiring people.
There is no more beautiful sight than one of
these long, wide streets lighted at night and
filed with flowers. The love of the beautiful
has led the japanese TO forego the grosser
pleasures of eating the fruit of the cherry
tree in order that they may enjoy the beauty
and fragrance of the cherry blossoms There
are large groves of the double lowered cherry
trees III al parts of the country, which grow
to enormous size. The flower is as large as
rose, and when in full bloom these groves are
a IL arvel of beauty, and are visited by thou
these flowery avenues. The chrysanthemum
gardens to be found in all towns and villages
are points of great attraction. In these are |
TO be seen every variety of that flower, every
shade of color and almost every size of bios
Son.
The summer sees streams of people, the |
poor as well as the rich, going to gaze at
Fujiama, the pearl of mountains. No per- |
son is so poor and no distance great but
what several pilgrimages are made in life |
time to this venerated mountain. In the (
autumn when the golden rice and wheat, |
and the brown millet have been gathered, |
the harvest festival is held in every part of !
the country. There in the groves, on soft
green carpets spread By nature, under the
full harvest moon, they make merry night
after night, with song ard dance At these
harvest festivals all classes, from prince to
peasant, rejoice over the ample winters
store. 1t is not only in this intense worship
of nature that the beauty of their country
has nodded and influenced their natural char
acter 1t is seen in their domestic inter
course In all the conventionalities of DO
lite life they are far in advance of any people
in the Occident This refined politeneSs per-
vades every grade of society. 1t is just as
noticeable among the lower as in the higher |